'Gears of War: E-Day' Lands With Critical Acclaim and an 87 Metascore

Coverage on October 10, 2026 confirmed 'Gears of War: E-Day' as the week's biggest video game release, having arrived on Xbox Series X|S, PC and Xbox Game Pass on October 6. By end of week the prequel had amassed a Metacritic score of 87 across 57 reviews and 91% positive critic verdicts on OpenCritic, with a user score of 8.7 from more than 1,200 ratings. Developed by The Coalition, 'E-Day' rewinds the franchise's timeline to Emergence Day, the moment the subterranean Locust horde first attacked the planet Sera, and casts players as a younger Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. Reviewers at Windows Central, Game Informer, Pure Xbox and Gaming Trend praised 'some of the most stunning visuals ever committed to the medium', an atmospheric mix of pulse-pounding action and horror roots, and refined cover-based gunplay with new mobility options. Criticism focused on an at-times exhausting campaign and a story that drags in its middle act. The game is Microsoft's biggest Xbox exclusive of the autumn and launches amid a crowded week that also saw 'Star Wars: Galactic Racer' and the 'Dragon's Dogma II: Dark Arisen' expansion arrive.